Platonic

Rogen and Byrne are so ideally well-paired—his ragamuffin slacker wiseassery meshing perfectly with her frazzled put-together anxiety and wannabe-cool awkwardness—that they make it TV’s most steadfast laugh-out-loud affair.

There’s a layer of lived-in specificity that gives the show unexpected texture, body, and room to grow. It walks a fine line between depth and lightness, substance and ease, and feels like a show that could run for years. Lucky me: I would happily consume five more seasons of this.

It's a strong season that cements Platonic as one of the best, breeziest, most enjoyable comedies on television.

Rogen's Will is the closest rendition of his classic stoner comedy persona since 2019's Long Shot, which hits all the right kinds of nostalgia for aging millennials, even if the shtick is getting a bit old.

Every now and then, Platonic leans a bit too hard on scenes where Will and Sylvia panic and begin screaming at each other about their latest catastrophe. But even some of those louder gags are terrific.

Everyone around Will and Sylvia gets jealous of their special relationship as a given, the comedy flip-flops between broad slapstick – in scenes oddly reminiscent of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, things inevitably go belly up whenever the pair get together – and the slyly subtle.

The show now asks whether Will and Sylvia should continue their mildly dysfunctional friendship. This question doesn’t provide quite enough direction or dramatic substance: the storylines are circular, the bickering is repetitive and there’s a distinct streaming-era bagginess to proceedings. Still, there remains a lot to enjoy here.

In short, it’s smart, funny and has more about it than your average “will they, won’t they?” rom-com.

“Platonic” is sweet and light and makes for perfect late summer viewing.

The primary reasons to tune into the sophomore season of Apple TV+’s thoroughly enjoyable but risk-adverse series about the exploits of the likable but L.A. neurotic besties Syliva (Rose Byrne) and Will (Seth Rogen) are: 1. Byrne. 2. Rogen. 3. Luke MacFarlane.

The series ultimately moves at a breezy pace and is rooted in laughs, crafting a chill, low-stakes story along the way. It can be tough to watch Will and Sylvia act selfishly, but they’re also charming, sincere, and relatable, making the pair worth sticking with.